House move - to clean or not to clean?

[Youngatheart00]

Hypothetical at the moment as not looking to move until the Spring. But thinking of our home, when we bought it 5 years ago we were very pleasantly surprised to find the place pretty clean, despite the fact that completion wasn’t occurring on their home until the same day. We left our rented place professionally cleaned as required under our contract.

What are people’s views on cleaning when selling a home? Do it yourself (if so - how do you manage alongside packing and removals?) or get a professional in (timing?). What have been your experiences when buying? The thought of moving in to somewhere dirty is horrible, has anyone experienced?

Sure COVID might change this, maybe we’ll see professional cleans as part of the contract now.

We cleaned as we packed, then s final vacuum, damp wipe round as each room was emptied into the van. The house we moved into was a symphony of grease, nicotine and empty gin bottles ( probate purchase). Horrible, and it took us several weeks of hard work, cleaning, painting and all new flooring to get it livable.

My house was filthy when I moved in. Quite demoralising. Oven was too filthy to use, same with the fridge freezer. But I wasn't surprised, the owners were still packing up an hour after completion. Please clean it as best you can.

We packed most of our belongings the weeks leading up to the move and put anything non essential in the outhouse (shed)

All bigger items we then moved into the bottom floor into one room and then cleaned every room from top to bottom.

It was hell. We moved just before lockdown so had no idea of we'd be allowed to even move and even with a license to occupy for a few more days we really struggled to move everything as it turned out we have far far too much stuff.

We left it sparkling clean as we didn't want to be 'those people' who left a house in a shit state, although the house we moved into had no flooring or turf, the garden was just a huge mud pit so we had a massive job on at both ends.

Years ago however, when I sold my first house, we were young and niaive and were bullied into moving out by the buyers the week before Christmas, so I do recall the house wasn't left in the best condition. Partly because we physically couldn't get everything out and clean in time but also because we were fuming and didn't care either way. thankfully I've grown up since!

Pack in advance, everything that it don't essentially need. Hire a cleaner. We couldn't because of bloody Corona..

When I sold my house I cleaned it thoroughly myself, I didn't get professionals in because they told me they were going to be getting the builders in right away to knock the downstairs rooms into one and so on. But I cannot leave a house in a state. it was neat, tidy and clean.
When I moved into this house which I bought from an older single man it was in a filthy and disgusting state, I could have wept because I was so tired having moved 300 miles all aone, I just wanted to crash out for the night.
But it was so dirty that I couldn't touch anything. It took me 2 weeks to get the place into an evern vaguely habitable state, I had to get an electrician in to change all the plug fronts because they were encased in grime from unwashed hands, all the carpets had to be cleaned, the walls washed down, there was nothing clean.
The bathroom was horrific.
I sat down and wept on the first night. I had lost my husband, my job, my lovely home and moved 300 to this place.
Since then I've had plasterers in, am gradually painting all of the rooms but there is nothing the previous owner hasn't bodged or left hanging off.
I would hate anyone else to have to go through this. There was no excuse for it, he had lived here for 20 years without a woman and just sat and smoked and let the grime build up. He probably never "saw" the dirt.

Clean! When we bought our house, it looked like the owners had neglected the house since we made the offer. It was filthy. The joy of moving into a new home was definitely muted because of it. Ths hob was caked in dried food, splashes of sauce all over the backsplash, the bathroom most definitely not been cleaned. The carpets were covered in crumbs. There wa also a ton of crap all shoved into one cupboard. We cleaned for hours that day. Galling especially as we'd left our house house pristine.

By the night before we moved everything g had been pack and dismantled. We slept on mattresses on the floor that night. So on moving morning all we needed was a quick shower, Macdonald's for breakfast, pick up the van, pack the van and give the house a quick Hoover. We didnt end up getting the keys until mid afternoon so we had a ton of time to hang about but it was in reality all done with the expectation of key collection at 12pm.

By all means get a professional cleaner I once you're packed but please have the house clean so the new owners dont need to spend time cleaning instead of unpacking. It's pretty selfish.

naice not naive

We left our last place sparkling clean with a bottle of bubbles and a card for our buyers. They stuck with us as we found a new house to buy when the first one fell through and I would have felt terrible leaving the house dirty for them moving in. It’s the right thing to do.

Yes, I'd leave it clean but I wouldn't break my back to achieve "spotless", shining taps and polishing light switches etc.

It is easy to do the insides of cupboards and drawers as they're emptied so I would dust and wipe inside.

We're looking to move this year. I will leave this house spotless, probably cleaner than it's ever been. It will be so much easier to clean with nothing in it!

The trouble is not knowing what you're going to find in the next place. Our current home was grubby, but it was a house that had got too much for the owner so we expected that. But we viewed a house a few weeks ago that was beautiful inside, but the garden was full of dog turds. If that was viewing clean, I dread to think what moving out clean would be!

The thought of moving in to somewhere dirty is horrible, has anyone experienced?

Believe me it is awful to turn up at your new house and find it so dirty you have to get the hoover out because you can’t bring in any stuff. We couldn’t unpack anything in the kitchen until I had spent 4 hours scrubbing and bleaching it. There was even a junk drawer still full of crap. I should be grateful the oven didn’t work because it would have taken forever to get rid of the thick, congealed grease. It made the house move a miserable experience. I had left our house spotless.

I have always left the places clean, they were normally clean anyway so giving a quick clean, leaving bathroom and kitchen clean was not much trouble.

I once offered to give a lift to the station to a family who were moving out of the area, the house normally was clean and tidy but that day it was a pigsty, she left all a mess, the bathroom was disgusting, the kitchen sink and worktops were covered with dirty pans and plates, there was rubbish on the floor all around the kitchen, the beds were un made, etc.

I was shocked she was happy to leave the house like that especially considering what a helpful landlord she had.

She still had the cheek to ask me for advice on how to get the landlord to hand back her deposit when he went into the house a week later to find it all the food she left out walking.

Unbeknown to her, we stopped being friends that day, I was not her landlord but someway her attitude showed me she was a nasty piece of work.

I wouldn’t dream of leaving a house a mess. I clean from top to bottom including a last hoover after all the furniture has gone. Leave it as you would hope to find it.

Yes I would and leave a toilet roll in the bathroom!

Always clean when everything is out (if I can) as makes it so much easier. And I clean but not an intense deep clean as I always know that when I move into a new home, no matter how clean it appears, I'll be cleaning it again myself....no idea why, just cant imagine not cleaning the house before we move in

This has been reassuring, just need to hope I buy my next house from a mumsnetter 😁

I know I’m planning ahead but professional clean built into the contract might be the only way to be assured of this, even if it does delay proceedings by a few hours. I couldn’t bare to walk in to our ‘dream house’ with it being a state and having to tackle that before being able to start the unpacking.

We had cleaners come after all furniture and boxes were taken out. DH went with the movers to new place, I stayed behind with cleaners to make sure we have done proper move out cleaning. I take it seriously - can't expect a clean place to move in if I don't do my part on the other end.

I always clean inside kitchen cupboards during the week before moving. On moving day every room’s hoovered as it’s emptied and the kitchen floor gets mopped. The basins in the loo and bathrooms get a once over and every loo gets a blast of bleach after the last flush. There’s far too little time on moving day for a professional clean.

Clean. Basic good manners. Our hoover died on moving day though but that was just a final whip round and the new owners turned up early and said they would do it themselves.

I've always left properties clean. When we moved to our current house it was filthy. Absolutely disgusting. It took 2 days of scrubbing to remove the grease build up from the kitchen cupboards and the toilet had been cleaned so infrequently that we replaced the whole thing including pipes as it smelt so bad. I don't know how the previous owner felt okay leaving it like that. Filthy bugger!

We were first time buyers and I took it for granted that people clean their home before moving on. Apparently not. There was wee in the toilet and the whole place was filthy. They had filled the wheelie bins and what they couldn't fit in, they left in the garden. The woman was so lovely when we viewed the house too.

I last moved when had one young child. I always leave houses clean so this is how we did it:
Started eating through freezer contents in last few weeks.
Thoroughly cleaned fridge and freezers few weeks prior so only needed a wipe on leaving day.
Booked oven clean and window cleaner for week before moved.
Cleaned dining room and spare bedroom and then used them for box storage.
As emptied kitchen cupboards, fitted wardrobes etc would clean them.
Got movers to pack van a room at a time.. I followed with hoover and wiped down surfaces...
New people could just move in... Our new house was dirty and needed 3 skips to clear it (owner deceased) . Cooker blew up on first use. 😱... I cried at this point...

I’d clean it myself yes but I wouldn’t get it professionally cleaned I don’t think. Stuff like making sure the cooker is clean is the descent thing to do.

I’d leave toilet roll and hand wash in bathroom too just to make it a bit easier for the family.

We pay someone. We have been really fortunate that the two places we've moved into have been cleaned too. Might feel grumpy if I had payed to have cleaned and then the same the other end. Thankfully hasn't happened yet. I wouldn't want to leave my house in a state (which it always is once you've moved everything out!) and with two small children and no local family it just isn't possible to do it ourselves.

When I was a teenager, we moved house and it was absolutely filthy. All the cupboards were thick in dust and sticky residue. The carpets were covered in hair and stains and dirt. I remember not wanting to be there at all. I felt dirty just being in it. It took years to renovate it and I’d left home before it was finished and they sold it.
We obviously did a deep clean when we moved in but it was so bad that it barely made any difference. I hated living there. It felt like living in someone’s armpit 😂

When we moved last year everything except the bed was in the van the afternoon before so we were able to clean it . I deep cleaned the oven thoroughly as well as the other appliances. I always move to brand new houses and would hate other people's dirt so would appreciate a clean house ( if this were not the case) but would still clean it myself .